Transmission-gearing.



C. W. LEVALLEY.

TRANSMISSION GEARING. APPucATmN FILED mm. 1912.

1151,482. Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-sum1,

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TRANSMISSION GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED IA'N.9. 1912.

111611161 Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANQGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. D. c,

lll n STAT CHRISTOHER W. LEVALLEY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCNSNZ TRANSMISSION-GEARING.

yimplication filed January 9, 1912. Serial No. 670,156.

T0 all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, CHRISTOPHER W. LnvALLEr, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Viisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Transmission-Gearing, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to that class oftransmission gearing, interposed between a driving shaft or member and a divided shaft or member, in which provision is made for simultaneously driving yboth sections of the shaft with like speed, or, when the shaft sections are turning at different speeds, driving only the more slowly revolving section, this latter section remaining in driving connection with the motor, while the other is temporarily disconnected therefrom and free to revolve at a speed greater than that of the section connected with the source of power. Mechanisms of this kind, broadly considered, are well 'known in the art and have been applied to the divided driven wheel shafts or axles of motor vehicles.

The invention has for its object to'improve gearing of this kind, more especially by providing it with novel means for positively preventing the faster turning shaft section, which should be free from driving connection with the motor, from becoming connected either therewith or with the other section of the shaft, through the overrunning of the fast moving section, throwing into operating connection gearing that unites these parts.

A practical embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in the following specification. f

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a transmission gearing embodying my invention and adapted to be used in driving a motor vehicle. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on they line H-lfl ofL Fig. 1, the inclosing casing for the gearing being omitted.' Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Ill-III of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view, in side elevation, of the `friction shoes of the clutch. Fig. 5 is a face view of one of the carrying or facing disks.` Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line ,VI- VI of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the other carrying or facing disk. Fig. 8 isa detached view, enlarged, of the clutch-expanding Ale-v spectively o and 6.' The ends of the shaft sections preferably abut and are reduced in diameter, as indicated at 19, though these features, while practically desirable, are not essential to my invention. To each section of the shaft there is secured a part of the driving mechanism, preferably in thek form of a friction shell 7, the inner overhanging flange of which forms a chamber in which is mounted an expansible friction shoe S. Each shoe is preferably formed of a pair of semi-circular segments, in which is seated one of the driving members that will later be described. The opposite ends, 30, of the segments of the friction ring are adapted to come close together but not into engagement, and are shaped to constitute seats with which engages a part of a shoeexpanding lever, that also serves as a driving membento be described. Y

The clutch shoes 8 may engage directly with the inner surface of the shaft-connected friction clutch element 7. I prefer, however, to' line the flange of this part with a close fitting metal ring', 3,1, formed of a metal that will resist wear and also insure good frictional engagement with the shoes 8. The web of the shell may be provided with apertures 32 'directly back of the lining 31 to permit the insertion of a tool which may be employed to remove the lining whenever for any purpose this is desirable.

Each friction shell 7 is provided with a hub by'which it is secured to its respective shaft section and which is preferably secured to the unreduced part of the shaft immediately'adjacent to the reduced sectiony 19 thereof. rlhis arrangement brings the inner edges of the friction shells `opposite each other and close together, but not in contact, and arranged between them are two disks 9, 10, and' the driving gear 11. The

disks are formed respectively with elongatedV hubs 9, 10', which are loosely mounted upon the reduced portions of the shaft sections and occupy the entire space between the hubs of the friction shells 7. The disks are i arranged respectively close against theedges of the overhanging kflanges of thel friction shellsl andl serve as face or closing plates for the chambers in which are located thefri'ction shoes 8. Between thedisks 9 and 10, and preferably mounted loosely upon the i Lhubs thereof, is -the main drive gear of the mechanism, in the form of invention illustrated, it being a bevel wheel 11 with which tion shells. It will ,be seen that when these v'parts are interlocked by rabbet joints such as described, the disks 9 and 10 assist in sustaining the outward thrust imparted by theV friction v'shoes when forced into frictionalr engagement with the shells.

In order to expand thefriction shoes so that they shall engage with the shellsl 7, l employ levers 15, preferably one for each y friction shoe..y Each lever is mounted in a recess 1S formedin a disk, 9 or 10, which is vshaped. so asy to form a closely fitting bearing or seat vtherefor and at the same itime .permit ythe lever tor have the desired rfreedom of movement' necessary to perform its functions. The lever is, whenviewed edgewise, v Z-sha'pe in configuration, having the main y,central portion or body that is i mounted in the recess 18, a laterally project- `ing pin or stud 16 seated in an aperture in i ,theweb of the bevel gear 11, and aplaterally projecting winged or expanded head 17 that section has its driving connection with the lies between the ends 30 of the friction shoe. Whenever thelever 15 occupiesaradial position withL reference to the driven shaftk or axle, the'head portion 17 thereof so. lies between ,the ends of the friction shoe thatthe latter contracts and springs away from the' Vwall-,fofnthe friction shell. On the other ng leme n that u :All shoe a pair g x andi 'eac tion being the shoe expanding lever already described andthe other a lever 20 preferably situated diametrically opposite the lever 15. kThis second drivinglever is similar to the lever 15 except that it does not have the winged expanded head 17, but instead is provided withy a cylindrical pin 22 that occupies the'aperture 29 in the friction shoe 8 formed in the ends 28'thereof.k The lever 2O is alsoformed with a pin or stud 21 fitting( an aperture in the drivingl bevel gear'11. j One of the disks, that designated 9 inthe drawings, is provided withA a seat 23, preferably eccentrically disposed, for a pin 24 f that is mounted so as toy be parallel with the axis ofthe driven shaft, and extends througha slot y25 formed inv-the bevel gear 11 and'has its free end situated between stops Vor contact pieces 26, 26, carried by the disk 10. These stops are preferably in the form of screw-threaded rods adjustably seated in bearings 27.

The operation of the gearing may now be set forth. lVhenever the two sections of the shaft, 2, 3, are being driven uniformly, as when the vehicle is moving along a straight line, power from the shaft 18 is transmitted through the bevel gear 11, the shoe-expanding and driving levers connected therewith and the friction shoes7 to both shells 7, which are Lconnected n with the shaft sections.

Should 'one ofthe sections of the driven shaft be caused to revolve more rapidly than the other, as is the case when the vehicle turns, the section that is turninglthe' more slowly remains in driving' connection with the motor, while the more rapidly revolving motor temporarily broken or'interrupted, leaving'such section free to turn'independkently of the'other section, and also of the motor, so long as it the more rapidly ref volves." Should its speed become the same as or less than that of the other shaft it is immediately and automaticallyy `"again brou' into' f driying 'connection' lwith the to The@ l'diseiigageiin'eilt dff'ifth ,inre

the central or neutral position of release from the friction shell, whereupon the lever 15 will be rocked, turning the head 17 thereof into position vto again expandv the shoeit now being inclined in a direction opposite to that lit before occupied whenboth sections of the shaft were being simultaneously driven-with the result that the two sections lof the driven shaft become connected and the shaft or axle operates as though formed of a single unitary piece. rIofpositively prevent this overrunning of the friction shoek and the consequent connection of the two sections of the shaft or aXle, the pin :24, carried by one of the disks, 9 or 10, and engaging with the bearings or abutments carried by the other, is employed. When the-faster moving shaft section tends to carry forward its friction shoe and connectedA disk, as just described, such movement does not progress sufficiently far to tilt the lever and expand the shoe before the end of the pin 2li' and one of the stops l26 come into engagement. TWhen this takes place further forward movement of the loose shoe and directly connected parts is prevented, since one of the elements of engagement, either the pin 24 or the stop with which it engages, accordingly as one section or the other of the shaft is turning the more rapidly, is connected with the slower moving and motor connected shaft section and thus serves to arrest. the forward movement of the loose friction shoe and to positively hold it in a neutral position, that is to say, in such position that the shoe and shell are out lof working 'frictional engagement.

It is evident that by the mechanismI'have described the driven shaft may be turned in either direction, that is to say, driven either forward or backward, accordingly as the drive shaft 13 turns.

lVhile I have illustrated the drive Wheel or gear 11 as being a bevel wheel itwill beA other parts kof the mechanism, asy shown iny the drawings and herein described.

I have in this specification described friction clutch connections between the driving gear 11 and the sections of the ydriven shaft, and my present invention comprises the speciiic mechanism constituting the clutch shown. It will be understood, however, that for some purposes of the invention the friction clutch mechanism herein shown andv described is merely illustrative of a clutch or connecting device, broadly considered, whether specifically like that shown or mechanically its equivalent.

It will be seen that the meeting ends of the two shaft sections are situated to one side of the plane of the driving gear 11 and this arrangement is for the purpose of positively holding the shaft sections in alinement with each other by a part of the mechanism other a than the driving gear itself. f

Vhat I claim is Y c V1. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a divided driven shaft, a clutch member carried-by each section of the shaft,

a drive gear supported between the shaftconnected clutch members, shoes for engaging respectively with the `said clutch members, loosely supported disks, interposed respectively between the saidy drive gear and one of the clutch members, and means for controllingv the operations of the `clutch erations of the'clutch shoes, mounted respectively in the said disks and each connected-.with the drive gear.V

3. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a divided driven shaft, a clutch member carried by each section of the shaf t and each formed with an overhanging flange that incloses a chamber, clutch shoes for engaging with the said clutch members located in the said chambers, disks constitutingy face plates closing the chambers in the said clutch members, a central drive gear interposed between the said disks and clutch-shoe-operatingmeans connected with the central gear andv extending through the said disks to engage with the clutch'shoes.

4. In a transmission gearing, the combi'- nation of a divideddriven shaft,.a friction shell formed with an overhanging flange carried by each section of the shaft, friction shoes mounted within the shells for engaging the said flanges thereof, disks arranged opposite the inner ends of the said friction shells, a ycentral drive gear located between the disks, and shoe-expanding levers seated in the said disks and having engagement with the central drive gear and respectively with the friction shoes. c

5. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a divided driven shaft, a shell-like clutch member carried by each section of the shaft, clutch shoes located withinv the shells of the clutch members, face plates coveringthe open ends of the shells of the clutch members and having rabbet joint connections therewith, va' centrall drive gear interposed between the fatev plates, and shoe-operating means connected with the said drive gear.

6. .iny a transmission gearing, Lthe *combi-Y nation of a 'divided' driven shaft, a. clutch member' carried by each section of the shaft, Y

clutch shoes for engaging with Vthe clutch l fmeinbers, a central drive. gear supported bers, disks interposed respectively .between f lfromtlie shaft betweenv the said clutchmemdisk, the said pin and stopsbeing arranged to maintain in .a lreleased Ycondition the clutch shoe. whenever the shaft section'with'` which it is Vassociated revolves ,faster-than' the other section. K y .p 9. In a transmission gearing, the combination of. a divided driven shaft, each sec- .'tion ofwhichl kcarries a Aclutch member, a

the drive gearxand the said clutchk members, y

lspectively with the said clutch members,

. means for controlling tlie'operations ofthe clutch slices mounted respectively inthe means for controlling the operations ofthe saidA disks and each connected with the driven 7. In a transmissiongearing', the combi-L lgear, and-means carried by the said disks `and extendingV across the said drive gear` drive gear., clutchshoes foivengaging re'- clutch shoes connected respectively with the drive gear,supports for the said shoe-oper ating means arranged on opposite sides of the drive gear, alpin carried by one of the [supports extending across the drive gear nation of a divided driven shaft, a clutchy member carried by each section ofthe shaft, clutch shoes forfengaging with the clutch members, a central drive gear, disks interposed between the drive gear andthe said operations of the vclutch .shoes connected clutch members, ymeans lfor controlling the with 'the drivegear and supported.''ifespec- ,tively in the said disks, and interengag-` ing means. carried yrespectively bythe said disks and arranged to positively maintain in a released conditiony the clutch shoe wlienevermthe shaft section with whichfit is vastion. i l y 8. In a transmission gearing, nationof a divided drivenV shaft,a clutch and adjustable stops between i which the said pin `liescarried by Vthe other support,

said ypinand stops being arranged to niaintain kin a released condition the clutch shoe whenever the. shaft section with which it is associated revolves .faster than the other section. `l0. In a transmission gearing, the combi` 4 nation of adivided driven shaft, a-clutch member carried by eachsectionof the'shaft, 75 a pair ofjdisksA coveringthe inner ends of the said clutch members and having hubs. mounted loosely upon vthe end-portions of `the shaft sections and occupying the space between tliehubs of the Vclutch members, 8o

yclutch shoes forvengaging with the said i' sociated revolves faster than the vother 'sec,

thel combi.

member, carriedbby each sectionlof the shaft,y

clutclrshoesfor engaging withthe clutch vmembers, a central drive gear,l disksv loosely supported upon the driven shaft and arranged between tlie said drive gear and the clutch lmembers respectively, vclutch shoe-l controlling means mounted in thesaiddisks clutch members, a central drive gear loosely supported vupon the hubs ofthe.l said'disks Y and located between the latter,levers' forcontrolling the operationsy of the clutch yshoes supported inthe said disks and connected v with the vdrivegear, a pin supported ,by one and connected. with-the drive gear, a pin sksl and extend-n mili wi' Jarw'mi. .v cents leach .195e addr Washington. D. C.

of the. disks and extending acrosspthe drive gear, and adjustable stops between which the pin is located carried'by the other disk.l 90 CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY.l VlvVitnesses.:l g

JOHN BAKKER, :,GEoLLBv-iVPirrTs.. 

